Australia produces an amazing amount of high quality cycling athletes considering our minimally supported cycling infrastructure and sport as a whole. Whilst we have a few cyclists who have been able to establish themselves internationally this is limited to a distinct few who are lucky to receive trade team support in the professional road cycling ranks. The gravel and offroad scene is ever growing with professional racing throughout the USA and Europe that is begging for Australian Athlete representation, with this being a difficult task for our Athletes to get to due to having to personally fund.

Courtney Sherwell hails from Bendigo in country Victoria and has been consistently performing at the very highest level in national level competitions across the past few years. Both athletes recently won their respective genders elite competition at the UCI World Gravel Series race at Gravelista in Beechworth Victoria, automatically qualifying them to represent Australia at World Championships in Belgium later in 2024. Adding to this achievement, Courtney is also the newly crowned Australian National Gravel & XCM Champion, having won both events impressively within 2 months of each other.

Australia's Governing body, Auscyling, under support the sport within Australia and provide no support for our best athletes to compete internationally, including World Championships. Our best athletes are expected to fund their own pathway to attend these events with many unable to afford the expense, reaching out to family, or attempting to do it on the cheap. This puts them on the back foot before the race has even started when competing against other established countries with more supportive cycling bodies.

Courtney wishes to use her exposure overseas to bring further attention to the need for greater investment into cycling as a sport as well as cycling as a positive health activity and primary mode of transport. Cycling in Australia is widely regarded as being an unsafe practice with our roads and culture not positively supporting the use of bikes for sporting or transportation means. Courtney works within her local cycling clubs to develop the sport and wishes to positively impact the next generation of cyclists coming through the ranks, showing them what Australian athletes can do at the highest level internationally.

For this to occur Courtney needs your help. Every donation will be utilised to get her to World Champs in the USA & Belgium in September & October 2024.

I greatly appreciate anything you can contribute towards my international racing endeavours and will do my very best to represent Australia to my full potential on the biggest stage.

Courtney Sherwell Instagram: @courtney.sherwell